When I explain CranioSacral Therapy to people I talk about the nervous system and explain that there are membranes that surround all organs and tissues in our bodies. We are basically one piece of fascia with many compartments.

The fascia has a very intimate connection to the nervous system as it protectively surrounds the nervous system. It probably makes most sense that CranioSacral Therapy brings relief to headaches, visceral issues and problems with the nervous system itself.

How can it help you when your knee is deformed, in pain and barely functioning? Or your lower hip hurts?

A session with the emphasis on osteoarthritis, chronic or acute joint pains, Akylosing Spondylitis, post-surgery pains, injuries for example, will start with the therapist feeling for the the craniosacral rhythm in several different places to locate restrictions and changes in the flow.

After the initial assessment and with an intention sat on for example relieving a painful joint, the therapist may be inclined to correct a misaligned pelvis or shoulder. Or start at the opposite end of the body where an injury may have occurred a long time ago. How does this work?

The forces of an impact due to a fall may not have left the body or perhaps the strain of a repetitive physical motion caused tightness and scarring in the surrounding fascia.

We know from physics that energy never gets lost. When it comes to the effects of impact I like using the example of a fall on the bottom: As we land, the energy from the momentum of the fall and the force of the impact will have to move somewhere. This forceful energy might exit in a perfect angle on the other side and we end up bruised but fine after a few days.

Or the energy gets stuck in a joint or bone. The recovery appears partial at best. The body will adjust and function around the area of impact but with lesions, like scar tissue, and the blood supply might decrease.

How does this relate it to a painful knee?

Let’s say the impact energy did not leave the bottom of the spine during the fall and is literally encapsulated in the coccyx and sacral area. The membranes will tighten up and you will inadvertengly change the gait. The center of gravity might change as well as the feedback for balance. Now other parts of the body might have to work harder. Your body might be leaning over to one side instead of being balanced.

If the body starts leaning to one side we might not notice right away. That is because our brain will make sure we see the world leveled no matter what.

This is the beginning of physiological adaptations to different areas from head to toe.

A CranioSacral Therapist will feel for the changes and modifications in the fascia surrounding the nervous system to find the source of the problem. As the source is released – in this case the coccyx bone and sacrum – the body will start to go back to its original alignments.